Chapter 318: The Mad Old Man

"Beep... beep... beep... beep..."

Following a scream from Guo Qin, the busy signal of the call hanging up came from the other end. When he called again, it was already powered off.

Ye Lin was a bit shocked. He had some understanding of Guo Qin's strength; although he wasn't top-tier, he could at least run if he couldn't win.

And Guo Qin was actually being blocked and beaten right now, which meant the husband of the woman Guo Qin cheated with definitely wasn't weak!

Combining this with the information he and Bai Siyou had just investigated, the identity of the person Guo Qin greened became obvious.

"Chen family? Lin family? Or... the Investigation Bureau?" Ye Lin muttered to himself.

Except for these three forces, it was basically hard to find experts in Hucheng who could block and beat Guo Qin.

"Don't really die on a woman's belly..."

As things stood, Ye Lin could only temporarily abandon his plan to find that half of the Origin Ancient Artifact. After all, the Origin Ancient Artifact wouldn't run away, but if he went late to Guo Qin's side, this guy might lose his life.

Ye Lin quickly reunited with Bai Siyou and informed her of Guo Qin's situation.

Bai Siyou was silent for a while, then asked.

"So what are you planning to do? Break in and save him?"

"Of course not, I'm not stupid! I'll sneak in!" Ye Lin nodded solemnly. "Quick, calculate! Where is Guo Qin?"

"How can I calculate? Except for knowing his name and that he's lustful, I have no information about him. What do I use to calculate?" Bai Siyou rolled her eyes.

The Eternal Magic Cube's ability was deduction, not omniscience. A clever woman can't cook without rice. This was like wanting to untangle a messy ball of thread—you have to have an end of the thread first.

"His information..."

Ye Lin froze. He suddenly discovered that he seemed to know nothing about Guo Qin either!

Guo Qin's age, Guo Qin's family, Guo Qin's past, Guo Qin's specific strength... Ye Lin couldn't answer a single one.

That guy who followed behind his butt every day, calling him "little boss" with flattery—he seemed to have never understood him.

"Then how about this! Calculate me. Calculate which direction I should go to seek good fortune and avoid disaster! This should be possible, right?"

"It is."

Bai Siyou nodded, then used the Eternal Magic Cube to start calculating. Half an hour later, she slowly opened her eyes, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

"I deduced... two results."

"Hm?" Ye Lin was surprised.

"The first result: stay where you are and don'

"Nothing will be gained, and nothing will be lost? Does that mean Guo Qin won't be in any life-threatening danger?" Ye Lin muttered to himself. "What about the second outcome?"

"For the second outcome, if you set off toward the southeast now, you will encounter three people you cannot defeat. Fortune and misfortune are intertwined; as for the specifics, it depends on you!" Bai Siyou said in a deep voice.

"Three people I cannot defeat? Are you serious?"

Ye Lin was horrified upon hearing this. In this Hucheng, there are actually three people he cannot defeat? And he could run into them on the same road? This was simply too frightening.

"I am only telling you the result of the divination. As for how you choose, that is your decision," Bai Siyou said.

"You said fortune and misfortune are intertwined. To what extent can the misfortune be, and to what extent can the fortune be?" Ye Lin pressed.

"I don't know." Bai Siyou shook her head. "My strength is limited; there are some things I cannot calculate and cannot see clearly."

Ye Lin felt a bit troubled. He narrowed his eyes, then grinned.

"If I can't see clearly, then so be it. If I can't beat them, can't I just run away?"

Without another word, Ye Lin took out a dagger and sliced off his own little finger, then handed it along with his Great Sumeru Ring to Bai Siyou.

"Take this, then find a place to hide and wait for me. Keep it in your bosom as much as possible to maintain its temperature; don't let the cells lose their viability."

Bai Siyou was stunned at first, but she quickly realized what Ye Lin was planning to do.

If he truly encountered an enemy he could neither defeat nor escape from, he would simply discard this body and rely on this finger to regenerate.

This was the first time Ye Lin had attempted this method. The main issue was that he didn't know how long this finger could last; once the finger's cells completely lost their viability, the finger would effectively become useless.

"I'm off. Hide well."

Ye Lin set off toward the southeast. Before long, a quaint and magnificent residence came into view.

No matter which city it is, anyone who can afford to live in such a sprawling residence clearly doesn't have a simple identity.

Ye Lin bought a cup of smashed lemon tea by the roadside. Watching the landlady in the camisole vigorously pounding the lemons, Ye Lin felt that the 15 yuan was well spent!

Later, in the process of chatting with the landlady, Ye Lin learned that this residence was the dwelling of the Chen brothers.

"So that kid Guo Qin really went to mess with the Chen brothers' woman?"

Ye Lin took a sip of lemon tea. The next second, he was suddenly tripped by someone and nearly fell face-first into the dirt.

"What the hell?"

Ye Lin looked down. An old man covered in filth with a withered face was lying on the ground, though he didn't know when he had gotten there. His hair was as messy as withered grass, his skin was shriveled, and he emitted an astonishing stench. One hand clutched a wine bag so black its original color was unrecognizable, while the other hand grabbed Ye Lin's pant leg. He spoke drunkenly.

"Young man, have some mercy and give me some money."

In the past, given Ye Lin's character of respecting the old and loving the young, he would have kicked him away. But this time, he didn't dare to move. Who knows if this old man might be one of the three people he couldn't defeat?

Just as Ye Lin was hesitating about what to do, the landlady in the camisole walked out directly.

"Crazy old man, get lost, get lost! Don't disturb my business! You stink! Who would dare come to buy things with you here?"

The landlady kicked and shooed the old man away.

"Who is he?" Ye Lin asked curiously.

"Just a crazy old man who wanders around here every day. He begs from everyone he meets, and once he gets money, he uses it to buy wine. He's just a lunatic!" the landlady said irritably.

"A lunatic? And he loves to drink?" Ye Lin was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy. Isn't this the classic template for a hidden master? "Old man, wait for me!"

Ye Lin caught up with the crazy old man and handed over all the cash he had on him.

"For me? You're giving me all this money?" The crazy old man's eyes were full of surprise.

"Old man, my friend was harmed by someone. I am going to save him tonight, and the journey will surely be fraught with danger. Money is just an external possession. If I die, wouldn't it just benefit my enemies? Since that's the case, I might as well do a good deed before I die and give it to you to buy wine."

Ye Lin smiled nonchalantly, possessing a tragic sense of "The wind blows, the river is cold; the hero goes forth, never to return."

"Yay!"

The crazy old man acted as if he hadn't heard a word Ye Lin said, happily running off with the money, fearing Ye Lin might take it back.

A moment later, the crazy old man ran back with wine. Once happy from drinking, he danced alone on the street as if no one else were around. People living nearby seemed long accustomed to the crazy old man's bizarre behavior.

Ye Lin didn't take it to heart. If this old man really was a master, a bit of cash could buy a master's favor—a guaranteed win. Even if the old man were truly just a lunatic, he hadn't lost anything. At worst, he could just grab the old man and find him a job on a death assembly line.